Alchemy
by Seiji
Summary: Flik remembers Odessa; Viktor listens.


**Alchemy  
**a Suikoden I and II fic by Seiji 

**Note:** Originally written for the LiveJournal community, 30 Kisses. (Theme #26 - if only I could make you mine.)

**Warning/Pairing:** Flik/Odessa; Flik/Viktor

**Disclaimer:** "Suikoden" is a trademark of Konami Co., Ltd. © 1995-2005. These characters do not belong to Seiji. -

* * *

"The first time it happened, it scared me." 

-

They had made love.

It hadn't been anything more special than usual. (Making love with her was always spectacular, but their lives were already fraught with drama and excitement. They kept their spirits of adventure for the other side of the bedroom door.) But afterwards, Odessa just couldn't seem to catch her breath.

Flik didn't worry. Orgasms were strange things, and this one must have hit her particularly hard. He roused himself enough to fold her into his arms, then smoothed back her hair and kissed her temple.

"Hush, Sweetheart, hush. It's okay."

He kissed her again-lower, near the corner of her eye-and tasted salt. Somehow, he knew it wasn't sweat.

"Odessa?" He pulled back and touched her cheek.

She was crying. And that discovery seemed to make it worse for her. She began to shake, and her muffled gasps became sobs.

"God. Did I hurt you?"

She shook her head. Despite her denial, he was horrified. How could he hurt something so precious to him?

He tried to ease away from her, but she clung to him, trembling and weeping. He held her as tightly as he dared and wished he could absorb her pain through his own skin.

Eventually, her sobs subsided. She sniffed a few times, then pressed a kiss to the side of his chest where her head was tucked almost under his arm. After a moment, she kissed him again and lingered over it.

She turned her head and nuzzled against his breast bone. Then she squirmed and wriggled and inched up his body. This, quite understandably, stirred his interest, but he ignored it. It was inappropriate; he shouldn't-

She licked his throat.

-shouldn't-

And she growled.

-shouldn't upset her further.

And she bit him, right where his neck and jaw and ear all met, and that was pretty hard to ignore.

"Odess-"

She grabbed a fistful of his hair and kissed him.

Oh, how she kissed him.

If kisses were words, her kisses had always said things like "Hi," "I like you," and, "You're rather sexy yourself, Handsome."

This kiss said, "You're mine."

And the next said, "I'm going to swallow you whole."

And it wasn't humanly possible to ignore that.

They made love again. And Odessa-his sweetly quiet lover, his dear Odessa who wouldn't let more than gasps and sighs escape her lips-kept repeating his name. "Flik, Flik, _Flik_..."

It was as fierce and quick as a summer storm. It left him pleasantly sore and boneless, and _almost_ too tired to be disturbed. As he fell asleep, he told that nagging little voice that there was nothing to worry about-unless it happened again.

-

"It happened again, of course."

Viktor nodded. "It was like once a month, wasn't it?"

"What! What do you know about it?"

"We had eyes, Flik. You think Humphrey and I didn't see the scratches?"

The pattern had repeated itself two or three times a month. Odessa never commented on her actions the next day-not even when she left his back covered in bloodly scratches.

"You never said anything, I figured they had to look better than they felt. If they'd been noticeable, you would've teased me for weeks..."

"Naw. I didn't like you well enough back then."

Viktor was an easy target, lying as he was with his head in Flik's lap. Flik poked him.

"You shit, you were always teasing me."

Viktor batted his hand away.

"Flik, my boy, one of these days you'll grow up-"

Poke.

"If I let you live that long-"

"Oh, dear," Flik said. "Is the big, shaggy bear threatening me? Whatever will I do?"

"You'll grow up, Goldilocks, and learn the difference between teasing and mocking."

"I can hardly be Goldilocks when you're the one who'd go around eating everyone's bowl of porridge-not that you'd stop at three-"

"I don't-"

"Goldilocks and the One Hundred Eight Bowls of Porridge. It would be a long story, and extremely boring."

"That's-"

"'And every bowl was just right,'" Flik sing-songed.

"Criminy."

"Hmm?" Flik smiled down at him.

"You're crazy about me."

"Am I?"

"Yeah." Viktor grinned. "You tease people you like, and you mock annoying little upstarts who win the girl and think they're better than you."

"Hmm." Flik pet Viktor's hair. "You may be right."

He fell silent for a while and wove Viktor's hair around his fingers over and over again.

Viktor closed his eyes and enjoyed it.

-

Odessa never said a word, and Flik couldn't bring himself to mention it. What would he say?

"Odessa, I love you, but every once in a while, we have absolutely incredible sex and it scares me"?

He didn't think so.

He kept his own counsel.

In one town, it happened three nights in a row. On the fourth day, dreading the next night, he volunteered for a solo mission-and began to dig for information. He learned that a good friend of Achilles' had once lived there. Odessa had frequently joined her fiance on his visits there...

-

"Flik?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you going to finish your story?"

Flik blinked. "Ah... I don't..."

"It's okay if you don't want to. I'm a big boy-"

Flik snorted.

"-I can live without my bedtime story-"

"Just not without your supper."

"That's right. That's only natural."

Flik poked Viktor's gut-which was, amazingly, still more flat than not.

"That? I'm not sure there's anything natural about that belly."

Viktor caught Flik's hand in his. "Tell me about it?" he asked as he rubbed his thumb over Flik's knuckles.

"Well..."

-

Over time, he'd developed a theory.

Love-making was an alchemist's game. You mixed two volatile substances together and hoped to find yourself blown to pieces. The explosion was exciting, but the best part was afterwards when you rebuilt yourself while safely wrapped in your lover's arms.

Every time Flik had remade himself in Odessa's arms, he'd discovered a bit more of himself that he could dedicate to loving her.

And Odessa... well...

She had loved him. He wouldn't doubt that. Ever.

And if, perhaps, her love for him had been more a product of her will than a product of her heart, he couldn't fault her for it. Her determination had been a wondrous thing.

And if she had slipped sometimes into old habits and put herself back together again as the woman madly in love with Achilles... if she had wept when she found herself in an unexpected pair of arms... if she'd had to use fantastic sex to remind herself of her love for Flik... Well, he certainly wasn't going to hold it against her. How could he?

-

Flik wasn't going to try to explain alchemy to him. "'Volatile?'" Viktor would say. "That describes you perfectly, Lightning." And then he'd start to giggle.

("Chuckle," Viktor would insist. "Real men don't giggle." But giggle, he would.)

"I remember thinking at the time," Flik said, "that even a fraction of her love was priceless. And if I treasured it less simply because I wasn't her first love or her greatest love, then... " Flik's voice broke, and Viktor squeezed his hand. He swallowed and continued. "Then God forbid, if I were ever in her shoes."

And Viktor-though he wasn't Flik's first love or his greatest-drew Flik's hand to his lips, and whispered into his palm. "You're priceless."

And Flik hauled him up, grabbed a fistful of his hair, and kissed him.

Oh, how he kissed him.

And if kisses were words, this one said, "You're mine, ya big lummox."


End file.
